Post-game Reactions

What They’re Saying The Day After: “We’re Awful”

“I just think our team’s playing awful overall,’’ Rivers said. “I don’t think it’s the beginning of the games. I’ve been saying it for a week now. We’re making up stuff on the floor on offense and de fense. We’re not executing. We’re not trusting each other. And, we’re going to win games still, but we’re not going to win against good teams.’’

Also via Dell’Apa: Rondo is saying all the right things about being essentially benched for in the fourth quarter for the second time this season:

“Whatever the team needs,’’ Rondo said. “[House] was doing the job; he missed some shots but he was keeping the defense honest and he played solid on the defensive end. I’m not really being selfish and saying I have to be in in the fourth quarter. If we won I’d be happy.

The only thing that bothers me? His admission that House “was keeping the defense honest.” It should be Rondo’s #1 goal in life right now to find some way to keep defenses honest. I’m sure he understands this.

From the same story, Sheed continues to swat away criticisms of his record-setting three-jacking and his 28 percent shooting from deep:

“I ain’t worried about it, honestly,’’ said Wallace, after he missed all eight 3-point attempts. “I probably rushed about two or three of them. Other than that, it’s good looks, they’re just not going for me. I’m not worried about my offense now. It’s still early in the season, I know I won’t be shooting like this for the duration of the season.”

Ok, Sheed. I’ll remember that last statement, and I’ll trust you that it’s true, for now.

From the same story: Marquis Daniels is dealing with some sort of injury with his left hand, and the C’s rough practices aren’t helping, according to Doc:

“His hand has been bothering him for a while,’’ coach Doc Rivers said before the game. “The officiating is terrible in practice – we don’t call anything. So, he realized that and decided to tape it.’’

We get some of the opposing viewpoint, after the jump.

Here’s Ben Q. Rock of the Magic blog Third Quarter Collapse on what, in my view, was the single biggest issue in the game:

[Jason] Williams had the unenviable task of containing the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, arguably the league’s fastest player. Rondo’s jumper, though, is a work-in-progress, so Williams just let him take ’em if he wanted to. Williams used Rondo’s glaring offensive weakness against him, and effectively took him out of the game that way.

But overall, Carter used 37 possessions (29 shots, four free-throws, six turnovers) to score 26 points, a ratio that Zach Randolph wouldn’t even be proud of. With the way Howard couldn’t sniff the basket, and with Jameer Nelson missing with a knee injury, a lot of responsibility fell on Carter to handle the scoring load — and he did just that, firing from anywhere and everywhere, often early in the shot clock.

“I mean, I wasn’t into the game today,” he said. “I was taken out by the refs or whatever, a few calls or whatever.”

A word on this: Perk does not help his cause with his complaining and the fact that he is an aggressive, temperamental player. I mean, how many times have we seen Perk get into those mini-confrontations under the hoop, when his arms get tangled up with an opposing player and he swings his arm extra-violently to free himself up. All big guys get tangled up now and then, and all of them get into the occasional chippy exchange. But Perk usually finishes those exchanges with a little extra flourish of aggression. It’s part of what makes him a player we all love. But it does not help his cause with officials.

So when Matt Barnes is tip-toeing along the sideline and Perk maybe puts a feather’s worth of weight on Barnes’s hip with one his hands, well, he’s not getting the benefit of the doubt.

And for the record: The blocking call that represented Perk’s fourth foul was the right call. He was moving.

“He is a great defender,” Howard said before recording a nine-point, 15-rebound performance – much of it while Perkins wallowed on the bench in foul trouble.

“I’d say he’s probably one of the best low-post defenders in the game today, and he’s underrated, but he’s gotten better from his first year to now,” he said. “He’s a big body, a traditional center, and he knows how to use his body well.”

In the same story, Doc confirms what we can all see about KG: He’s not 100 percent. Will he ever be again? Doc seems cautiously hopeful.

“One day he’s explosive, one day he’s not, one day he’s healthy, one day he’s not, and that’s just gonna take time.”

Whether he’s 100 percent or 80 percent, nobody brings the effort like KG. He was fantastic last night defensively.

I don’t think the Cs are awful. They didn’t play smart. Every game has good & bad, and there was some good in that game. I loved their fight. They had a chance to win it late. I’d rather see them struggle & learn what works at the beginning of the season.

I am guilty of expecting KG to be KG immediately. After a major injury, it should take some time. It is wrong for me to expect too much too soon. He may even have to tinker & change his game around some. He looked like he was playing hard. He made some fantastic blocks & steals. He even struck back when Dwight tried to bully him. I love the fight in him. Thanks KG.

I would prefer for Rondo to be the nut cracker, to be the riddle solver, to figure out the weaknesses in the other teams defense & exploit it. One of his greatest qualities is his IQ. That makes him dangerous. Thankfully, sometimes he does use his dribble to probe around to look for a crack in the D forcing the D to react & get out of position. I never thought I’d say this, but he was late on some passes. I saw Sheed seal off his man in the post. He just needed a quick lob pass, but Rajon kept dribbling & allowed Gortat to rotate down to help. Later, in that same possession, Sheed came back out & took yet another 3. We all love it when Rondo passes or dribbles & dishes the ball inside to the bigs with them getting a dunk or ez basket. You can see all the bigs get energized & play better on both ends when this happens. I’d much rather see Rondo get an assist than hit a jumper.

Rondo may get a jump shot over time, but we know he is lethal quick & readily makes shots on drives (I think he misses some golden opportunities early in the possession before the other team’s defense is set). I love him taking it to the basket & his passing because the majority of what I see from the rest of the Cs is jump shots, and how is that working for them? You cannot have everybody shooting non stop jumpers & expect great things. Barkley says it every yr, & I agree, “ain’t no jump shooting team gonna win it all.” There has to be some posting & driving. I’ve been very impressed with Ray Ray quietly driving the ball, posting up smaller guards, & even dunking. I feel terrible that his very own teammates do not recognize or reward him when he is shooting well.

Sheed looks so good in the post. He looks like he can get a high percentage shot at any time. He also plays some pretty good interior D. You can see the savvy. I wish he would get a conscience at the 3 pt line. Sometimes he has the range, but he has to have an epiphany or there needs to be a Doc mercy rule–if you miss three 3 pointers in a row & you don’t go inside or pass then I will become your conscience & say you gotta sit. We are not gonna let missed 3s destroy our offense & lose the game for us. From his quote, it seems unthinkable, but Sheed doesn’t seem to understand just how much he is hurting the team by taking every open 3. Maybe he will read about here, & it will eventually sink in.

Cptn Bubbles

Could it get to the point to where the players, themselves take matters into their own hands & refuse to pass it to Sheed when he is behind the arc? Only pass it to him in the post when he is obviously cold from outside? If Sheed refuses to stop shooting, Doc could force him to stop by telling everyone not to pass it to him if he is beyond the arc. It sounds crazy, but it would bring it to a screeching halt.

Sitemap

Follow Us!

The ESPN-affiliated CelticsHub.com has provided Boston Celtics fans with a balance of fresh commentary, analysis and features to become one of the most read Celtics blogs.
Get in touch with us via email at: celticshub@gmail.com